With son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan’s involvement in the spot-fixing scam already raising questions about how long Srinivasan will stay BCCI chief, Gurunath’s doings could also have put Srinivasan’s role in the ICC, where he is a de-facto member of the board of directors, in jeopardy.
Section 7 (d) of ICC’s Code of Ethics states that ‘It is not permitted and a Director shall be in breach of this Code if a member of his immediate family (being a spouse, parent, sibling, son or daughter) has a controlling interest in a betting business, a substantial relationship with a betting business or is employed in the day to day operational control of a betting business.’
From a distance, this code could spell disaster for Srinivasan. When asked about it, Srinivasan was clearly caught unaware. “I have to see it [ICC rules] myself. I have not done anything wrong. We will see and examine it. It is for ICC to look into it,” said Srinivasan on Sunday.
But what goes in Srinivasan’s favour is that the allegations against Gurunath are yet to be proved by a court of law. That Gurunath has been arrested on allegations of spot-fixing in the Indian domestic Twenty20 league, which has not been given a separate window on the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, also makes the case a bit lighter.
If the code is taken word for word, it just speaks of the involvement by someone who is strictly next to kin — a spouse, parent, sibling son or daughter. Gurunath is none of these, but the possibility is that his proximity to Srinivasan could make the BCCI president's position in the ICC somewhat uncomfortable too.
{{/usCountry}}If the code is taken word for word, it just speaks of the involvement by someone who is strictly next to kin — a spouse, parent, sibling son or daughter. Gurunath is none of these, but the possibility is that his proximity to Srinivasan could make the BCCI president's position in the ICC somewhat uncomfortable too.
{{/usCountry}}